⚠️Mention of triggers. Rape, suicidal tendencies, ect. You were warned.⚠️
Unbreak- Camylio
《¤Rosie¤》
Th enormous white building loomed over the roundabout driveway and blocked the descending sun. My lungs were tight within my chest as I eyed the window on the second floor far to the right. My once black curtains were exchanged for gold and lavander drapes. I shouldn't have been surprised she would change things once I was gone.
Blood means nothing.
I swallow back the nervous pump in my throat as I shut my car door. Maybe I should have taken Dr. Ackermans advice and had someone come with me. At the time, I had thought I'd be okay facing her.
A whole month of therapy and we breached my childhood. I'd skated around the topic for a bit, but eventually that too became something Dr. Ackermans pried out of me.
Things I'd forgotten. Things I thought were normal. Things I'd blamed myself over. All of it came rushing back. I've been having therapy twice a week. Maybe I thought it would help rush the process, but all it does is tear apart the walls I've built up.
My childhood wasn't a happy one.
I hadn't warned her I was coming. I didn't want her to prepare a lecture or immediately jump down my throat. Facing my mother was something Dr. Ackermans had recommended. Not because he thought I needed to make amends, but because he thinks it would help me if I stand up for myself.
My insides vibrated and my chest weighed down on me as I slowly walk towards the front door. I didn't hesitate when I rang the doorbell. If I did, I knew I would immediately turn away and head back home.
Home.
Was it my home?
I didn't have time to mull over the thought. Jefferson, my mothers butler, was pulling open the large heavy door with surprise written across his face. I've known Jefferson my whole life. He was once my fathers personal butler, but once my mother had me he was sent to take care of us.
His soft brown eyes took me in with pride as an easy smile spred across my lips. He wouldn't embrace me. He wouldn't overstep any rules set by my mother, but I could see in the small curve of his mouth that he was happy to see me as well. His hair was thinning until he had only a small white crown on his head. He was thinner, frailer than I remembered. He was about in his sixties now, but with how he glided back and beckoned me in with a bow, I wouldn't have guessed.
"Ms. Costa!" His soft eyes twinkled with delight. "I will tell the Misses that you're here."
I murmur a thank you and watch as he glides away with his chin held high. I didn't bother to follow him. I knew I wouldn't be staying long.
Within a matter of minutes I heard them coming. His precise and agile steps, then the quick scuffing and click of her heels. He was the first to enter the foyer and she followed soon after.
Her icy eyes soften as soon as they land on me. I couldn't move. She wasn't the mother I'd seen two months ago. Her once dyed blonde hair was overgrown and grey and white hairs peppered her roots. The tan she ever so loved getting weekly was nowhere in sight. She was pale, her skin chalky and flakey from being overly dry. She wasn't as thin. Her once papery skin was now filled out a bit more and she looked less like a walking skeleton.
She rushed to me. She embraced me.
I didn't hug her back.
She took a step back and held onto my shoulders as she gave me a once over. Her icy eyes were glistening with tears, but I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it.
Did she really miss me? Or was this just another manipulative tactic? Was she out of money already?
"My baby!" She grinned widely. "I missed you so much! Why haven't you answered my calls? I was so worried!"
I've read her messages. I've screened her phone calls. None of them were laced with worry. They only ridiculed me.
"We need to talk."
Her smile faltered, her gaze immediately drying up as she released my shoulders. "Straight to business, I see."
When I didn't bite at the sudden hostility teetering within her abnormally gentle tone, her eyes shifted away in annoyance.
"The parlor." She waved me off as she turned sharply and strode away. It was only then that I noticed a few body guards standing behind her shift out of the way as she past them. I watched as they followed her tight on her heels.
What is she afraid of?
I keep a safe distance as I trail behind them. They weren't my fathers men. Who they were and why my mother felt she needed them were lost on me.
She was already seated in her usual seat when I entered the parlor. The two men flanked behind her and with how mothers chin was jutted out, I bet she felt powerful.
"What's with the bodyguards?" I chance a glance at them, but their eyes were set on every entrance to the room.
"Precautions." She grinned through clenched teeth. "Now tell me why me ungrateful daughter shows up. Tell me why she decides to come and cock me attitude."
"I didn't give you attitude." I say matter-of-factly. I watch with satisfaction as surprise flickers across her features. She wasn't used to me talking back. "I simply said that we needed to talk."
"What about?" Her gaze flickers to her bodyguards with apprehension. "Is this about the texts?"
"What texts?"
"Nothing." She waved me off. Her face blanched as she shifted uncomfortablely. "What do you want? I'm a busy woman."
Telling by the way her hair was thrown up carelessly and the sweats that fell loosely around her small frame. I doubted it. She looked... human. I've never seen her dressed so casually. Her baggy clothes hid the measures she'd taken to modify her body. Not a speck of makeup covered the crows feet beginning at the corner of her eyes or the shadows beneath those icy blue pools that tainted me.
I stare at her. How do I begin? Do I just blurt that I felt she was a terrible mother? Do I tell her that I'm not someone she can use to gain social status? Do I tell her I'm her daughter and not an object?
"My childhood-"
"Good god." She moaned as her head fell back. "Don't tell me you're here because of that therapist you're seeing."
"How did you-"
"How would I not know?" She spat at me, her icy gaze leveling on me. "Do you not see social media anymore? Don't you care that people are eating you up alive? All of those magazines are saying you are mentally unstable! They're starting to come after your father and me! Do you know how that makes me feel-"
"Holy fucking hell!" I blurt out as I rise to my feet. I ignore the men that went ridged by mother. "All you care about is your fucking self! You're such a selfish bitch. Can't you see I'm fucking trying? Can't you see that I don't care about what they say about me? And I definitely don't care if they drag you or that monsters name through the mud."
"Rosie-"
"No, mother." I spit out the name like it's posion. "You put me through hell. You made life impossible. I was never good enough for you. I was never the daughter you wanted. You'd starve me because of what others thought. You'd hit me when I said something that didn't agree with the fantasy you'd invisioned. I'm not a fucking doll, mother. I'm human."
"You're so fucking ungrateful!" She screamed at me, tears rolling down her narrow face. "I sacrificed so much for you! I did everything for you! I gave you a home! It's better than you would have gotten!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I spit back. "I didn't have a home. I had a roof over my head. A roof that would constantly be taken away the moment I didn't meet your expectations. How many times have you thrown me out? How many times did you ship me off to Armando's-"
"He's your fucking father-"
"He didn't fucking act like it!" I seethe. "He made me kill people. Did you know that? He made me do things I never wanted to do! I was fucking raped and he left-"
I froze as the words tumbled out. I hadn't meant to say anything about it. She didn't react. She just stared up at me with with her features hardened in anger. I expected tears. I expected horror to flush her face. I expected anything but the constant glare.
"You knew." I sucked in a deep breath as her eyes flicker across my face. "You knew and you did nothing." I took a step away from her. "You're a fucking monster-"
"A monster wouldn't have fucking taken you!" She screeches.
As soon as the words left her lips. She froze. Her hand flew to her mouth as I eyed her in confusion.
"What the hell does that mean?" I grit.
Her mouth clamped shut.
"You're my mother..." As I spoke, her eyes shifted away. Suddenly her words sank in. It's better than you would have gotten. A monster wouldn't have taken you. Those words don't match my perspective. A mother would have cursed me for the pain she endured having me. A mother wouldn't say she'd taken me. "Right?"
Her silence brought me stumbling back. Slowly the air was sucked out of the room, along with it my anger as terror seeped into my bones. I always thought I never resembled my mother and father, but I never thought it was because of her.
"Who the fuck are you?" I whisper in horror.
She winces, but wouldn't meet my unwavering gaze. "I gave you a better life." She whispered feebly.
"Who are you?" I scream at her. "Tell me the truth!"
Her eyes flicker to her hands. In her them is a phone. Slowly she places it on the table in front of me, the screen open to messages.
"Look for yourself." She finally met my gaze, true worry flickering within her irises. I stood rooted, my chest heaving as a dull ache formed within my head. "Everything you need to know is right there."
I surveyed my surroundings. Her bodyguards haven't moved from their positions, but their hands rested on invisible weapons within their blazors. Jefferson stood frozen with shock evident on his thin features as he stared into the side of mothers dead. Then there was her. She just sat there. Defeat written across her face.
"I've kept the secret from everyone." She admitted as her eyes scanned the phone. "If you want to know. If you want the truth. It's all right there."
It didn't take much more convincing. I scooped it up quickly and took a few feet back away from her. Slowly and cautiously, I pulled my eyes away from her and down to the phone. I scrolled to the earliest message, sent over a month ago.
2:32 a.m.
Unknown Number- I know what you did.
2:34 a.m.
Unknown Number- It's only a matter of time before she finds out.
2:53 a.m.
Unknown Number- What will she do when she realizes she isn't a Costa?
My stomach dropped sickeningly. When she realizes she isn't a Costa. I could feel her gaze on me and it made me nauseous.
3:33 p.m.
Unknown Number- Silence won't stop me.
3:36 p.m.
Unknown Number- Do you think I don't know? October 10th 1999, a baby girl was born and discarded at a fire station drop box. 6lbs and 9oz, green eyes, white skin, small with short fuzzy brown hair. Said baby girl was taken to a hospital to be checked. There that baby girl never made it to the couple who wanted to adopt her. She was taken from the nursery hours before.
3:39 p.m.
Unknown Number- Does that ring a bell, Grace Wilson? How would your "daughter" feel if she knew you'd stolen her? And how would she feel if she knew the reason behind it?
No, it wasn't true... it couldn't be. I couldn't breathe. My hands trembled as I scrolled to recent messages.
5:21 a.m.
Unknown Number- Tell me, Grace. Did stealing an innocent child help you? Did you get the heartless Armando Costa like planned?
6:40 p.m.
Unknown Number- Guards won't protect you. I am the Reaper, you heartless bitch. You hurt my flower. Sooner rather than later, she will send me for your soul and I will gladly reap it.
The last one was sent just a few days ago.
1:12 a.m.
Unknown Number- All that you cherish will crumble. You dragged my flower into a world she didn't deserve. You did it selfishly out of greed and desperation. Now you will watch as your selfishness and greed catch up to you. That daughter of yours will be your downfall.
The phone fell away from my hands and clattered to the floor, but I didn't care as I met her wary gaze. She fisted the hem of her shirt as I stood frozen before her. Slowly everything came into perspective. It chipped away at the edges of my memory until Grace Wilson sat before me as a complete stranger. I didn't know her like I thought I had. She wasn't my mother. And now with everything coming to light, I realized she never really acted like a mother either.
A mother wouldn't have locked her daughter in the closet for interrupting a phone call. A mother wouldn't have forced diet pills down her underage daughters throat at twelve years old. A mother wouldn't have sold her daughter to a supposed father just to get his attention.
A mother wouldn't have sat by when her daughter was beaten, raped, and left suicidal.
She knew my attempts. She made me throw up her medication so I couldn't overdose. She caught me before I could put the makeshift noose around my neck inside of my closet. She stopped every attempt. She knew how much I struggled. She knew I didn't want to exist in this life, defiled, used and discarded, hurt and alone... she knew the reason. Instead of helping me. Instead of being there for me... she made me feel guilty for wanting an out. She told me I had demons. She told me I was the problem. She told me...
It would look bad for her if I committed.
"You..." I couldn't find words as I kicked the phone back to her. She didn't cast it a single glance, her tired eyes were honed on me. "I don't even know what to say."
"I'm sorry-"
"Don't!" I cut the air with my hand. "You have no right to try and guilt me. You have no right to manipulate me with fake ass tears. You have no right to make this my fault. I know what you'll say. I know you'll turn this on me. You'll make me feel crazy, just like always. Then somehow make yourself out to be the victim." She sucked in a deep breath as I continued. "You are fucking dead to me, Grace."
Her shoulders slumped, the panic evident on her face as I turned away from her.
"Rosie, wait!"
"I don't have to wait for anyone. Especially not you." I grit over my shoulder.
I didn't wait for Jefferson to say goodbye to him, but I had a feeling it would be the last I'd see of him. Her heels clicked behind me, rushed and unstable as I jogged down the porch steps and towards my car.
"Rosie Abigail Costa!" She called out threateningly.
There was a point in time when hearing my full name would have sent a tremor of fear down my spine. This time I felt nothing. She no longer held any form if power over me.
I ducked into my car and started the engine. She attempted to stumble off the steps and sprint towards me. But by the time she reached my car, I was already slamming on the gas and spinning the car around the roundabout driveway. She stood there, even as I pulled out onto the main road. Guards flanked her as she stood shouting and crying.
I didn't go back. I didn't feel guilt. I felt... empty.
It wasn't until I was halfway home that it all hit me at once. Maybe I was in shock before, but once I was alone with my thoughts it all came crashing down. I scream tore out of my throat as tears burned within my eyes. I pulled off onto the side of the road and slammed my hands against the steering wheel as I screeched and cursed at her. She wasn't here to hear it, but I couldn't stop it either.
She wasn't my mother. Everything she put me through... it was in vain. She didn't want me, I was just the means to an end. An end she never even got. She took me to snag Armando...
Suddenly I froze.
Armando isn't my father. I'm not a Costa.
Both relief and terror shook through me. I wasn't a blood Costa. I wasn't tied to the bad blood. I wasn't the same as them. But with that realization came the sudden fear of someone finding out. I wasn't a blood born Costa. The Costa Mafia wasn't mine to keep. I wasn't their true Donna... I was an imposter.
My mothers secret could be my downfall. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what would happen if the dedicated soldiers my father had sculpted were to find out. They'd want me out... possibly dead.
I swallow as tears pour down my cheeks. Who the hell am I? Not even my own biological mother wanted me. No one wanted me.
That's not true.
I swallow back a bitter laugh. Dominic was home waiting for me. What would he do if he knew who- what I was? I wasn't a Costa. Hell, I didn't even know if Rosie was my real name.
My car idled as I sat there coming to terms with it all. I didn't know whether to be devastated or relieved, or whether to be happy or hurt. I had no family. Not even Hayden was blood. I had... no one.
I willed back the tears that well up, but nothing I did could suppress them. I don't know how long I sat there until my emotions subsided. The sun had finally fallen behind the horizon by the time I could being myself to push the gear back into drive. I arrived at Costa Hotel, but something felt off about it. I no longer held pride as I strode through the lobby. It wasn't mine anymore. It belonged to a woman, but that woman wasn't me anymore.
I hit the penthouse floor as I entered, but before I could enter someone squeezed in. I glanced up and side stepped away. Chuck was wheezing as I leaned against the opposite wall.
"Do you know why Hana called me?" He wheezed as he eyed me worriedly. "What happened to you?"
"Life." I shrugged. I definitely couldn't confide in him.
He snorted, but didn't press me. I could feel his confused and worried glances, but I didn't entertain them. As the doors slid open, annoyance hit me first, but it quickly slipped away as I took a glance at each of their solemn expressions.
Hana stood by the leather backed chair, Dr. Ackermans was seated in said chair, and Dominic sat across from them with his back to me.
"Ackermans?"
"Pops?" The surprise in Chucks voice made me realize I'd forgotten my therapist was his stepfather.
"Please, take a seat."
It was then that Dominic looked up at me. His face was pale, his breathing heavy as his glossy eyes glistened in fear.
A fear I'd never seen before.
"I'm so sorry, Rosie."
••••••《¤》••••••
A/N:
Hello, my lovelies! Things are about to get shaken up! How did you like that reveal? It sorta left me feeling a certain way finally revealing it. Like I've had it planned since the start, but having Rosie find out hurt my heart a little.
Anywhooo, I'll be working in the next chapter as soon as possible because even I can't wait to find out how everything goes down.
Until next time, my lovelies!
Unedited